1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to apparatus for the preparation of breaded food products and more particularly to a new and improved manual apparatus for breading such products.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a variety of restaurant operations foods such as chicken parts, shrimp, fish and vegetables to be deep fried are breaded by hand dredging in a spiced flour mixture, immersion in an appropriate batter and dredging a second time in the flour mixture. Aside from being a labor intensive operation, it has been difficult to produce a uniform breading thickness and results in an inordinately high use of flour in part due to an accumulation of doughballs in the flour mixture. Further flour dust can produce damage to other kitchen equipment such as compressors and fans.
Some prior art devices have involved certain motor driven elements in attempts to improve one or more aspects of the breading operation. Among these are U.S. Pat. No. 3,910,227 which issued on Oct. 7, 1975 and discloses a power driven sifter. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,469,561 and 3,855,965 which issued on Sept. 30, 1969 and Dec. 24, 1974 respectively describe tumbling type breading devices. None of these prior art breading apparatus have been found to resolve the prior problems in a fashion which is economical for an individual restaurant operation.